Restoration of the lake that was a main draw for Lake Forest subdivision development takes another step Wednesday.

A portion of Lake Forest Drive atop a dam will be closed and a contractor hired by the neighborhood’s homeowners association is to begin work to repair damaged drainage pipes that have kept the lake dry for more than three years.

While the closure of the 200-foot portion of road figures to affect only the 170 or so residents of the neighborhood, it represents progress for Bobby Anderson, president of the group, who said Johnny Catlett of Satartia-based General Dirt Works was hired to help replace the pipe.

&#8220We’ll have to dig out the whole levee,” Anderson said.

Warren County taxpayers will not foot any of the estimated $40,000 price of refilling the lake, as only the road was under county maintenance.

The homeowners association had cited a natural event, heavy rains in February 2003, as damaging the two pipes that helped maintain levels in the 17-acre lake to get public help.

Sought was replacement of the entire section of roadway and refurbishing an emergency spillway to handle unusual flooding. The county declined, mainly due to cost.

The homeowners association renewed its privately funded drive to refill the lake after Anderson took the reins of the organization.

Through increased membership dues, the group has raised half of the money they think they will need, and, as some members have predicted, raise property values in the area.

&#8220We’re still hoping more residents will contribute,” Anderson said, adding that the rest of the cost could be borrowed if need be.

Originally, the association needed permission from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to proceed with the effort. After that, it hired a Jackson engineering company to draw a comprehensive repair plan. That plan advised all or part of the dam be removed, including both pipes that failed, and an auxiliary spillway be added.